- Year
- 2024
- Category
- Residential · Affordable Housing
- Type
- Residential
- Status
- Built
- Location
- Ivry-sur-Seine, France
START-Ivry: Form follows life Rethinking housing from the inside out: a new generation of social and private housing, where the dwelling adapts to its inhabitants – and not the other way around START-Ivry sets out to redefine housing culture. It rejects the prevailing standardisation of housing production and responds to the growing diversity of contemporary lifestyles. It rethinks housing from the inside — starting from the resident — restoring the central role of the floor plan, and boldly reversing the conventional process by starting with architecture: the architect is selected first, and developers are then invited to compete.
START embodies a genuine paradigm shift. START stands for Social, Transformable, Affordable and Resilient Typologies — housing solutions that respond to contemporary life. Located in Ivry-sur-Seine, a city historically linked to architectural innovation, START paves the way for a new cycle of experimentation in housing. START is both a manifesto and a demonstration: it proves that much better housing can be achieved without increasing surface areas and within very constrained budgets. A pilot project.
A vanguard. Households today are increasingly diverse and dynamic — single-parent families, blended households, elderly residents requiring assistance, remote workers — while housing has remained largely standardized and rigid, serving developer logic more than the realities of life. START address this mismatch by creating housing that adapts to its inhabitants: dwellings can be enlarged in anticipation of a child; a kitchen relocated to make an extra bedroom; children’s rooms transformed into a studio; or a neighbouring unit purchased to extend the current one.
Even in its initial state, the dwelling already accommodates a wide range of users and situations, placing residents at the heart of design. START comprises five buildings totalling 288 dwellings, including social, intermediate, and market-rate housing, arranged to create a new urban skyline along the Seine and Marne rivers in Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris. The project offers a wide range of typologies, from studios to five-bedroom homes, including intermediate “plus” and “bonus” types. These are structured around three complementary frameworks: the 10 Adaptability Principles ensuring flexibility over time (divisible dwellings, groupable units, movable kitchens, balcony “plugs”, alcoves, modular rooms, etc.); the 8 Quality Principles ensuring spatial quality (double/triple orientation, naturally lit kitchens and bathrooms, usable outdoor space); and the 10 Principles for a Good Tower defining a positive, desirable density well integrated into its context.
Housing quality determines building form. The exceptional slenderness of the five towers (14 m depth, up to 56 m high) maximises natural light, ventilation, and views — 90% of dwellings look towards the Seine/Marne, 88% have double orientation, and 30% triple orientation. Window positions, balconies, recessed loggias, and colour accents emerge from interior logic, generating façades that are varied yet meaningful. Concrete and red-painted surfaces reference Ivry’s architectural heritage, while colour coding reveals internal typologies.
Sustainability is approached broadly: a 20% reduction in energy use, low-carbon concrete for structure and façades, geothermal heating — and above all, spatial resilience. Homes can evolve over decades addressing social, environmental, and economic sustainability at once. The project was made possible by the pioneering “Inverse Method”: the architect was selected first to draft the brief, and developers were then invited to compete in ateliers over eight months, based on the architect’s project. - - - - - - - - START-Ivry by STAR strategies + architecture – Name: START-Ivry – Location: Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris – Date: 2015 – 2025 (finishing works ongoing) – Architect: Beatriz Ramo / STAR strategies + architecture — Author: Beatriz Ramo López de Angulo — Project Lead: Danae Zachariaki — Team: Efraín Pérez Del Barrio, Ivan Guerrero, Geoffrey Clamour, Syeva Roest, Javier Cuartero, Bittor Arrillaga, Maria Castillo, Iris Ramas, Marc Coma – Landscape / public space: Bernd Upmeyer / BOARD, Bureau of Architecture, Research and Design – Programme – Surface area: 22,863 m² NFA, including 19,701 m² of housing (≈53% private housing, ≈33% social housing and ≈13.5% intermediate housing) – 288 dwellings (up to 350 after possible subdivision); 3,163 m² NFA retail; 2,600 m² outdoor spaces at ground level; 2,000 m² outdoor spaces at upper levels – Construction cost (2020): €43,367,730 excl.
VAT – Client – Developer: Phase 1: SADEV 94; Phase 2: SOGEPROM Réalisations - - - - - - - - Prize List START-Ivry 2025 - FINALIST in the Matilde Baffa Ugo Rivolta European Award 2025 for Social Housing (ongoing); - FINALIST in the AMA Archutecture Madrid Awards 2025 in the “Professional Award” category (ongoing); - WINNER of Batiactu Reader’s Award in the Trophées de la Construction 2025; - WINNER in the LOOP Design Awards 2025 in the categories “Architecture – Social Architecture”, “Architecture – Multi Unit Housing”, “Landscape – Public Space”, “Landscape – Rooftop Design”; - Shortlisted in the AHA Architecture Hunter 2025 in the “Public & Urban Design”, “Social Housing” and “High Rise Buildings” categories (ongoing); - WINNER in the RTF Rethinking the Future Awards 2025 in the category “Woman in Construction (Built)”; - WINNER in the DNA Paris Design Awards 2025 in the category “Housing”; - PLATINUM WINNER of the Houzee Awards 2025 in the categories “Social Housing”, “Multi-Family Housing”, “Affordable Housing”, “Accessible and Inclusive Housing”, “Urban Landscape Design”, “Courtyard & Patio Design”; - FINALIST in the BCIA British Construction and Infrastructure Awards 2025 in the “International Project” category (ongoing); - WINNER of both Jury’s and People’s Choice Awards in the AZ Awards 2025 in the “Urban Design - Built developments” category; - SPECIAL MENTION in the Architizer A+ Awards 2025 in the “Affordable Housing” category 2024 - WINNER of the Prize ARVHA Femmes d’Architecture in the category «Œuvre original»; - RUNNER-UP / 3rd PRIZE at the GADA Award (RTF – Re-Thinking the Future) in the category “Housing (over 5 floors) – Built”; - WINNER of the Prize Défis Urbains Innovapresse, in the category «Modes d’habiter»; - WINNER of the Prize Classement des Promoteurs Innovapresse in the category «Réversibilité / modularité»
START-Ivry: Form follows life Rethinking housing from the inside out: a new generation of social and private housing, where the dwelling adapts to its inhabitants – and not the other way around START-Ivry sets out to redefine housing culture. It rejects the prevailing standardisation of housing production and responds to the growing diversity of contemporary lifestyles. It rethinks housing from the inside — starting from the resident — restoring the central role of the floor plan, and boldly reversing the conventional process by starting with architecture: the architect is selected first, and developers are then invited to compete.
START embodies a genuine paradigm shift. START stands for Social, Transformable, Affordable and Resilient Typologies — housing solutions that respond to contemporary life. Located in Ivry-sur-Seine, a city historically linked to architectural innovation, START paves the way for a new cycle of experimentation in housing. START is both a manifesto and a demonstration: it proves that much better housing can be achieved without increasing surface areas and within very constrained budgets. A pilot project.
A vanguard. Households today are increasingly diverse and dynamic — single-parent families, blended households, elderly residents requiring assistance, remote workers — while housing has remained largely standardized and rigid, serving developer logic more than the realities of life. START address this mismatch by creating housing that adapts to its inhabitants: dwellings can be enlarged in anticipation of a child; a kitchen relocated to make an extra bedroom; children’s rooms transformed into a studio; or a neighbouring unit purchased to extend the current one.
Even in its initial state, the dwelling already accommodates a wide range of users and situations, placing residents at the heart of design. START comprises five buildings totalling 288 dwellings, including social, intermediate, and market-rate housing, arranged to create a new urban skyline along the Seine and Marne rivers in Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris. The project offers a wide range of typologies, from studios to five-bedroom homes, including intermediate “plus” and “bonus” types. These are structured around three complementary frameworks: the 10 Adaptability Principles ensuring flexibility over time (divisible dwellings, groupable units, movable kitchens, balcony “plugs”, alcoves, modular rooms, etc.); the 8 Quality Principles ensuring spatial quality (double/triple orientation, naturally lit kitchens and bathrooms, usable outdoor space); and the 10 Principles for a Good Tower defining a positive, desirable density well integrated into its context.
Housing quality determines building form. The exceptional slenderness of the five towers (14 m depth, up to 56 m high) maximises natural light, ventilation, and views — 90% of dwellings look towards the Seine/Marne, 88% have double orientation, and 30% triple orientation. Window positions, balconies, recessed loggias, and colour accents emerge from interior logic, generating façades that are varied yet meaningful. Concrete and red-painted surfaces reference Ivry’s architectural heritage, while colour coding reveals internal typologies.
Sustainability is approached broadly: a 20% reduction in energy use, low-carbon concrete for structure and façades, geothermal heating — and above all, spatial resilience. Homes can evolve over decades addressing social, environmental, and economic sustainability at once. The project was made possible by the pioneering “Inverse Method”: the architect was selected first to draft the brief, and developers were then invited to compete in ateliers over eight months, based on the architect’s project. - - - - - - - - START-Ivry by STAR strategies + architecture – Name: START-Ivry – Location: Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris – Date: 2015 – 2025 (finishing works ongoing) – Architect: Beatriz Ramo / STAR strategies + architecture — Author: Beatriz Ramo López de Angulo — Project Lead: Danae Zachariaki — Team: Efraín Pérez Del Barrio, Ivan Guerrero, Geoffrey Clamour, Syeva Roest, Javier Cuartero, Bittor Arrillaga, Maria Castillo, Iris Ramas, Marc Coma – Landscape / public space: Bernd Upmeyer / BOARD, Bureau of Architecture, Research and Design – Programme – Surface area: 22,863 m² NFA, including 19,701 m² of housing (≈53% private housing, ≈33% social housing and ≈13.5% intermediate housing) – 288 dwellings (up to 350 after possible subdivision); 3,163 m² NFA retail; 2,600 m² outdoor spaces at ground level; 2,000 m² outdoor spaces at upper levels – Construction cost (2020): €43,367,730 excl.
VAT – Client – Developer: Phase 1: SADEV 94; Phase 2: SOGEPROM Réalisations - - - - - - - - Prize List START-Ivry 2025 - FINALIST in the Matilde Baffa Ugo Rivolta European Award 2025 for Social Housing (ongoing); - FINALIST in the AMA Archutecture Madrid Awards 2025 in the “Professional Award” category (ongoing); - WINNER of Batiactu Reader’s Award in the Trophées de la Construction 2025; - WINNER in the LOOP Design Awards 2025 in the categories “Architecture – Social Architecture”, “Architecture – Multi Unit Housing”, “Landscape – Public Space”, “Landscape – Rooftop Design”; - Shortlisted in the AHA Architecture Hunter 2025 in the “Public & Urban Design”, “Social Housing” and “High Rise Buildings” categories (ongoing); - WINNER in the RTF Rethinking the Future Awards 2025 in the category “Woman in Construction (Built)”; - WINNER in the DNA Paris Design Awards 2025 in the category “Housing”; - PLATINUM WINNER of the Houzee Awards 2025 in the categories “Social Housing”, “Multi-Family Housing”, “Affordable Housing”, “Accessible and Inclusive Housing”, “Urban Landscape Design”, “Courtyard & Patio Design”; - FINALIST in the BCIA British Construction and Infrastructure Awards 2025 in the “International Project” category (ongoing); - WINNER of both Jury’s and People’s Choice Awards in the AZ Awards 2025 in the “Urban Design - Built developments” category; - SPECIAL MENTION in the Architizer A+ Awards 2025 in the “Affordable Housing” category 2024 - WINNER of the Prize ARVHA Femmes d’Architecture in the category «Œuvre original»; - RUNNER-UP / 3rd PRIZE at the GADA Award (RTF – Re-Thinking the Future) in the category “Housing (over 5 floors) – Built”; - WINNER of the Prize Défis Urbains Innovapresse, in the category «Modes d’habiter»; - WINNER of the Prize Classement des Promoteurs Innovapresse in the category «Réversibilité / modularité»